Communication devices, including mobile radio communication systems, walkie-talkies, cordless telephones, pagers, personal digital assistants, cellular phones (analog and digital), remote control devices (garage door openers, television remotes and the like) and other analog and/or digital communication equipment have become useful tools for business and social use. Portable communication devices allow individuals to move freely and communicate. For example, individuals now can continue to perform tasks at work, in the home, in the car and communicate with others. In addition, the user of a portable communications device is not restricted as to physical location as is the case with telephones that are connected to the wall by wire.
It would be advantageous for users of portable communication devices to be able to utilize the communications device to perform functions other than communicating. For example, users may be in situations where they need to view objects in the vicinity. The user may travel to surroundings that are poorly lit; in such situations visibility may be important to both operation of the communications device and to movement in the surroundings. Prior inventions have addressed visibility to some degree.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,066 discloses a mobile phone battery recharger with a light source. The recharger can be used as an emergency flashlight. However, this invention has not integrated the light source into the telephone. Furthermore, illuminated key pads are a common feature on portable phones. The illuminated key pads allow the user to operate the portable telephone in poorly lit surroundings, but do little to enhance the mobility of the user in those surroundings.
Integration of a light source into a simulated handset has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,821,539. This invention has no function as a portable telephone. The handset simulates a telephone handset, and there is no ability to communicate with others. One can use the invention only to illuminate items in a car. The invention is portable and can be charged through the cigarette lighter of the automobile.
Current products have addressed the need for a portable light source. However it would be desirable to have a single device that could be utilized for communications and illumination of the user's surroundings. It is conceivable that a communications device user will move in environments that have inadequate lighting, and thus a light source integrated with the device would provide a convenient source of illumination for the user. A portable telephone with an integrated flashlight enables the user to communicate and/or illuminate the surroundings with one single device. Other inventions required the portable telephone user to find a separate light source, and this could often require one to carry two devices; a portable telephone and a flashlight.
There also exists a widespread market for power source units, also referred to as “power packs” of the type that serve as a power source for tools, communication devices, portable audiovisual devices (radios, televisions, and the like) cameras, and other portable devices. It would be advantageous to have a power source unit for these types of devices and others, which included a light source for illuminating the surroundings.